Contact printing frame for automatic printing machines



E. H. GROGAN 2,444,505 CONTACT PRINTING FRAME FOR AUTOMATIC PRINTINGMACHINES Original Filed Feb. 16, 1945 July 6, 1948.

1 N VEN TOR. [1 r4578" 1/ 41:0 am

Patented July 6, 1948 2,444,505 CONTACT PRINTING FRAME FOR AUTO- MATICPRIN TIN G- MACHINES Elmer H. Grogan, Danville, Ill.

Original application February 1.6, 1945', Serial No.

579,719. Divided-and this application September 7, 194-5, Serial 4Claims. 1

This invention is a division of my co-pending application Serial No.579,719 filed February 26, 1945, now Patent 2,426,092, August 19, 1947.

More particularly it relates to a novel form of negative holder for usein ers such as is disclosed in the above application.

The invention is illustrated and may b understood by referring to theaccompanying drawings. Fig; l is a view of the inside of the openholder. the side. Fig. 3 is an en-dzview of the closed holder. Fig. 4 isan end view of a modified hinge and Fig. 5 is a side view of the hingeparts.

This plate holder is designed to slide into a machine, such asisillustrated in the parent application, on an appropriate track in thecasting forming-the frame. It ismoved into position in front ofanopening through which light passes to efiect exposure of a sensitizedcard, which brings the opening in the back of posite a, platen which is.thrust into the opening at appropriate intervals to hold a sensitizedcard firmly in printing position until the exposure is made and thenmoves out of the opening to permit the exposed card to be released andan unexposed card tobe introduced. The plate holder is closed as in Fig.3-when in th printing machine.

The plate holder consists of a frame l0 having an opening ll thereinpicture tobe printed.- laid over this Opening.

At each end of frame I0 is a recess l2. In the recess is placed a pinl3, which passes through a plate I 4; covering the recess with the innersurfaceof frame l0. Plate l4 may be held in place, for example, byscrews l5. There is an opening H5 in plate l4 through which pin l3passes. This opening is largerin diameter than pin I3. In the recess,andforming part of pin I3; is ahead I1, which may be flat and ofslightly smaller diameter than, recess l2. The diameter of head I7 is atleast as much smaller than, recess l2 as the difference in diameter ofpin I3 and opening it. This permits the pin to be shifted slightly inposition. The head I1, is ofv suificient thickness that it may be heldfirmly in place when plate I4 is fastened in position.

Hinged to frame- In by hinges l8 are bars l9. These comprise two barsofmetal or wood or otherappropriate material, which are spaced apart adistance sufficient to permit the free passage of a falling card betweenthem. They are tapered near thehinge in order to guide a card The plateor negative is into; the proper position as it falls throughtheautomatic photo print-.

Fig; 2 is a view of the open holder from.

the holder opiii slightly larger than the a and fitting flush ner thanmembers transparent opening in the top of the assembled plate holder.Back plate 20 has an opening 2|, the dimensions of which correspond tothe platen of the printing machine, except for the semicircular openingprovided for purposes of adjusting the plate or film. Attached to eachof the bars l9 are springs 22; which may be used to hold the plateholder firmly inthe machine. After the plate holder is in position it isheld by set screws.

Opening H in frame l0 may be overlaid with a mask, which provides amargin of proper shape and size on the printed card. The mask, notshown, fits over pins I 3, the positions of which are adjusted until themask is accurately placed.

A transparent plate 25 is placed over the mask and the negative isplaced on the plate. The plate holder is then closed and the members l9rest uponthe edges of the film and the glass plate holding, them firmlyin place. The position of the negative. can be adjusted by holding thetwo halves of the plate holder slightly apart and moving the film asdesired by reaching through the semicircular-aperture in back plate 20.When the film is in proper position, the halves of the holder areclampedtightly together and will then hold the negative immovably in itsproper position.

Bars 24 correspond with the notch or recess 23 and preferably exert aslight spring pressure so that the two halves of the plate holder areheld firmly together and in their proper relationship to eachother. Thisavoids the necessity of special clamps.

It willbe noted that frame I0 is slightly thinl9 and is so hinged as topermit; anevenpressure on the glass plate and film whenthe two halvesare closed.

A. modification of this permitting the useol' glass of varying thicknessis shown in Figs. 4 and:5. A hinge member 26 is held firmly in positionin a notch in member l0 by means of screws 21. The part of the hinge tobe associated with member l9 contains an elongated hole 28. This memberfits into a notch in the end of member l9, which has a hole 29 extendingthrough it and threaded on its inside portion to receive a machine screw39-. The machine screw serves as a bearing or pivot for member 26 sothat, member l9 may be pivoted. When the plate 25 is placed betweenmembers l0 and I 9 and the halves closed, the inside surface of memberI9 rests upon the surface of plate lls pressing evenly over its lengthregardless of the thickness, since pivot pin 3!) can slide back andforth for a small distance in hole 28. This 3 prevents breakage of theplates due to minor variations in thickness.

Members l9 have a plate attached to the back of each so that it forms aframe, The plate contains an aperture having a semicircular recess atone end, the main opening being to permit entrance of the platen and therecess being for the purpose of film adjustment above described. The twobars are of sufficient thickness to form a passageway for the cardsfalling down the chute of the printer. They should be of sufficientthickness that the card will not be impeded by any part of the plateholder. In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the hinged member isflush with the sides and ends so as to avoid any possible obstruction tothe falling cards.

The upper end of members l9, that is the top end, is curved slightly soas to guide the falling card into the passageway between the film andthe plate 20. The opening in 20 is slightly smaller than the card sothat it cannot fall out or stick and is sufficiently large toaccommodate the en trance of the platen. A spring 22 is attachedlongitudinally to each of these bars and is bent as illustrated in Fig,2. Set screws thrust against the bowed part of these springs when theplate holder is placed in position in the machine.

An important feature of the plate holder is the device for holding themask in position. This consists of a pin [3 attached to a head l1, themember bein of a rivet-like shape. The head fits into a recess l2 inplate [0. The diameter of the recess is larger than head l1. A plate I4fits over and closes the recess, being flush with the inside of memberIll. It contains an open ing substantially larger than the pin l3 so asto permit the pin being moved slightly, thus changing the position ofthe mask which is fitted on it and is held by a hole of a sizecorresponding to that of pin l3. The plate I4 is held in place by screwsi5 and presses firmly against member I! to prevent its moving, after thescrews have been tightened.

Although I have described preferred embodiments of the invention, I donot intend to be limited to the exact structures illustrated.

I claim as my invention:

1. A contact printing frame for photographic negatives for printingcards in an automatic photo-printing machine having a printing platenwhich automatically thrusts a sensitive card to be printed into contactwith a negative and holds it there during exposure, said framecomprising a first hinged section and a second hinged section, the firsthinged section having an aperture for positioning a negative, atransparent plate covering the aperture, the second hinged sectionformed in the shape of a channel, said channel forming with said firsthinged section a slotted opening extending through said printing framewhen said sections are closed, said slotted opening providing apassageway through which sensitized cards can freely pass, the sides ofsaid channel further disposed to form guiding means for guiding saidsensitized cards through said slotted opening, said channel shapedsection forming the back of the frame and having an aperture thereincorresponding to the aperture for the negative, and means holding saidhinged sections firmly together when the frame is closed.

2. In a contact printing frame for an automatic photo-printing machinefor printing cards from photographic negatives, said machine having aprinting platen which automatically thrusts a sensitive card to beprinted into contact with a negative and holds it there during exposure,the improvement comprising a contact printing frame having a firsthinged section and a second hinged section, the first hinged sectionhaving an aperture for positioning a negative, the second hinged sectioncomprising a pair of substantially parallel bars one bar along each edgethereof, forming a slotted opening extending through said printing framewhen said sections are closed, said slotted opening providing apassageway through which sensitized cards can freely pass, said pair ofbars further disposed to form guiding means for guiding said sensitizedcards through said slotted opening, a plate attached to said barsforming a back, said plate having an aperture of the size and shapecorresponding to the size of a card to be printed, and means holdingsaid hinged sections firmly together when the frame is closed.

3. A contact printing frame for photographic negatives for printingcards in an automatic photo-printing machine having a printing platenwhich automatically thrusts a sensitive card to be printed into contactwith a negative and holds it there during exposure, said framecomprising two hinged sections, the first of said hinged sections havingan aperture for positioning a negative, a recess positioned outside ofsaid aperture, adjustable means for holding a mask in predeterminedrelationship to said negative and said ap erture, said mask holdingmeans comprising a pin having a base, said base positioned in saidrecess, said base smaller than said recess thereby permitting limitedmovement of said base in said recess, a cover for said recess having anopening larger than said pin through which said pin extends wherebylimited movement of the pin is obtained, means for attaching said coverover said recess such that said base is firmly held in a predeterminedpositiOn in said recess, the second of said hinged section comprising apair of side members and a back defining a slotted passageway throughsaid frame when the hinged sections are closed, said back having anaperture of the size and shape corresponding approximately to asensitized card to be printed, and means holding said hinged sectionsfirmly together when the frame is closed.

4. In a contact printing frame for an automatic photo-printing machinefor printing cards from photographic negatives, said machine having aprinting platen which automatically thrusts a sensitive card to beprinted into contact with a negative and holds it there during exposure,the improvement comprising a contact printing frame having a firsthinged section and a second hinged section, the first hinged sectionhaving a transparent section for positioning a negative, a recesspositioned outside of said section, adjustable means for holding a maskin predetermined relationship with said negative in said section, saidmask holding means comprising a pin having a base, said base positionedin said recess, said base being smaller than said recess therebypermitting limited movement of said base in said recess, a cover forsaid recess having an opening larger than said pin through which saidpin extends whereby limited movement of the pin is obtained, said coverbeing flush with the inner surface of said first hinged section, meansfor attaching said cover of said recess such that said base is firmlyheld in a predetermined position in said recess, the second hingedsection comprising a pair of substantially parallel bars one bar alongeach edge thereof, said bars forming a slotted opening extending throughsaid printing frames when said sections are closed, said slotted openingproviding a passageway through which sensitized cards can freely pass,said pair of bars further disposed to form guiding means for guidingsaid sensitized cards through slotted opening, a plate attached to saidbars forming a back, said plate having an aperture of the size and shapecorresponding approximately to a sensitized card to be printed, andfriction means associated with one of the hinged sections and engageablewith the other hinged section to hold the sections firmly together whenthe holder is closed, said members being flush With the sides of saidplate holder.

ELME'R H. GROGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

